QUEEN'S PARK, Sept. 30 - The McGuinty government has received overwhelming interest from more than 150 companies to help meet Ontario's electricity supply challenge, Energy Minister Dwight Duncan announced today. "We are very encouraged to see that investors are clearly interested in doing business in Ontario," Duncan said. "By working together, I am confident we can meet our electricity supply challenges and help clean up our air, while at the same time creating new jobs and new opportunities for Ontarians." On September 13, the government initiated a Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify interested proponents for the generation of 2,500 megawatts of new, clean electricity or conservation measures. Qualified bidders will have until November 22 to submit final proposals. It is expected that new projects could be announced as early as January, with new electricity capacity on-line as early as 2006. "We have received initial expressions of interest that total over 60,000 megawatts of new electricity capacity or comparable conservation measures," Duncan said. "While not all of the proposed projects will move forward, this overwhelming level of response shows the tremendous interest in investing in Ontario's power industry." This is the second RFP for electricity capacity introduced by the McGuinty government. On April 28, an RFP for 300 MW of new renewable energy capacity was initiated. In total, close to 40 final proposals were received for approximately 1,100 MW of new, clean sources of power. An announcement of the successful proponents is expected later this year. "The overwhelming response we have received to our requests for new electricity capacity and conservation measures will allow us to choose the most viable, cost-effective projects for Ontario's electricity consumers," Duncan said. "These are projects that will help us reduce our reliance on coal to generate electricity - projects that will help us clean up our air, use energy more wisely, and improve the quality of our lives." A technical consultation session on the 2,500 megawatt RFP will be held in Toronto on October 6. For more information, please visit the dedicated RFP website at www.ontarioelectricityrfp.ca. Disponible en français. www.energy.gov.on.ca --------------------For further information: Angie Robson, Minister's Office, (416) 327-6747; Ted Gruetzner, Communications Branch, (416) 327-4334

This document was published on September 30, 2004 and is provided for archival and research purposes.

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